Monday, October 24, 2016

Labor Leaders Accuse Mayor De Blasio of Betraying Unions

 
By Jennifer  Fermin and Erin Durkin

Bill de Blasio came into office hoping to be the most labor-friendly mayor the city had seen in years, but as he gears up for re-election his work to win over support from some unions may require serious elbow grease.

In a column exclusive to the Daily News, Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen called on workers to question what de Blasio did to help them during his nearly three years in office before deciding whether to support him.

“To my brothers and sisters in the labor movement, I say this: Thoughtfully contemplate whether de Blasio really shares our trade union values before you give the mayor your stamp of approval. At Bill’s core, it’s all about Bill, not the trade unionist working families we represent,” Samuelsen, head of the 42,000-member union, wrote.

De Blasio, initially considered a longshot, did not get the support of most unions in the mayoral primary in 2013, but the labor movement coalesced around him in the general election — a feat he hopes to repeat in 2017, where he does not yet face a serious challenger. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: The New York Daily News (via The Empire Report) 

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